The recently reported shooting incident involving a soldier at a military checkpoint and a civilian in a vehicle brings a few issues to focus. These must be checked properly in order to avoid a repetition and thereby increase the sense of safety and security of the people in the country.
It is reported that the driver refused to stop at the said checkpoint and nearly ran over a soldier at the checkpoint. According to the statement from the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), this action caused fear and was seen to be something that is a threat to lives of road users. This was why the soldier opened fire aiming at the tyre in order to stop the vehicle.
It is reported that a passenger sustained some injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment. According to the GAF statement, the driver was rushing and refused to stop at the checkpoint. This was why they had to shoot at his tyre for him to stop.
The passengers in the vehicle however narrated a different story. According to them as reported in some Social Media sites, it was due to the fact that it was raining and as such they could not see the cones early. When they realised that there was a checkpoint, they had already gone past it. The driver was slowing down to stop but the bullet did that for him before he could do it.
Whatever the truth of the matter is, some things need to be looked at to avoid a recurrence of similar incidents. One of those is the fact that soldiers mounting a checkpoint at random is not necessarily in line with democratic norms. There are enough, if not more, police checkpoints already. This should be considered seriously by the policymakers.
The other side of the coin is that drivers should always stop whenever they come to a checkpoint. Drivers should always observe speed limits in case of emergencies so that they can stop. If a driver is speeding, he or she may not be able to stop when something or someone suddenly crosses the road.
The safety of the citizens is the responsibility of the State and her agents.
